Tuesday, July 26, 2022

In the Ring with the Maverick - Kathy Douglass (HSE #2924 - Aug 2022)


Anything he can do
She can do better
 
Rodeo riders Jack Burris and Audrey Hawkins are both at the top of their game -- except when it comes to love. Competing against each other in the Bronco Summer Family Rodeo, they are so determined to win they've put blinders on, tamping down their mutual attraction. In this battle of the sexes, the real victory may lie in surrender, but who will get off their high horse first?

 
Good enemies to lovers story. Audrey is the third generation of a rodeo family. She's proud of what she and her sisters can do and frustrated at the lack of respect given to women in rodeo. The Hawkins sisters came to Bronco for the Bronco Family Rodeo.
 
Jack is also part of a rodeo family. He and his three brothers all compete. Jack doesn't think women belong in rodeo, that it is too dangerous for them. He has a woman friend who was paralyzed in a rodeo accident. Jack grew up in Bronco, and he and his brothers are in town to compete also.
 
The rodeo promoters have latched on to the two families as the faces of the rodeo. During a photo shoot, the sparks between Jack and Audrey are intense and evident to everyone around them. Their chemistry comes out in the photos, too. The promoters suggest a Battle of the Sexes exhibition between the two families. Audrey sees it as a great way to show what the women can do, while Jack thinks it's a bad idea.
 
I liked watching the relationship develop between Jack and Audrey. The chemistry between them is explosive, as are their opposing views of women in rodeo.  Seeing them poke at each other while trying to make their points was fun; neither one was willing to give an inch. Both found that despite their antagonism, getting each other out of their minds was impossible. Jack tried telling Audrey that he needed to concentrate on preparing for the rodeo and that they needed to keep things professional rather than personal. That didn't last long, so they decided to see where things would go between them.
 
The promoters also started pushing a blossoming romance between Jack and Audrey while they tried to keep anything between them private. The more time they spent together, the more their feelings for each other grew. Both try to resist because maintaining relationships on the rodeo circuit is complicated. They also must reconcile their differing opinions on women in rodeo. I liked seeing Jack's prejudices change the more he gets to know Audrey and see how good she is. Things look promising until Audrey overhears a discussion between Jack and his brother Geoff. Jack made a boneheaded comment, leaving Audrey devastated and furious.
 
It was exciting to see the competition between the two teams during the rodeo. They were evenly matched, and I liked seeing how each event turned out. I wasn't entirely satisfied with the outcome of the rodeo competition, as it seemed as though the announcer had his desired result and wouldn't settle for anything different. All Jack wants is the chance to make things right with Audrey, but he doesn't get the chance. I ached for both and their unhappiness. I laughed when Jack got obscure advice from Winona Cobb. But when he finally figured it out, he found a fantastic way to demonstrate his feelings to Audrey. The ending was terrific, and I loved Jack's bib moment.
 
I loved Jack's brothers and the close relationship they had. They tease and argue but are there for each other in times of trouble. Audrey's sisters were great too. One urged Audrey to be cautious with her relationship with Jack, while the other two were all for it. But all of them supported her when she needed it. There was also a secondary relationship between Jack's brother Mike and Audrey's sister Corinne. It will be interesting to see if anything comes of it. 

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